Police say a man from Florida was arrested for reportedly hiding two radio-controlled bombs in the bathroom of a casino.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement said in a release on Thursday that Bryan Robert Eckley, 46, of Tampa, was arrested on October 30 and charged with two counts of making and placing destructive devices with the purpose to harm.
“Eckley did everything he could to hide from the police,” said Mark Brutnell, special agent in charge of the FDLE in Tampa Bay. “But because of how well this investigation and forensic team did their job, he will be held responsible for what he did.”
The suspect is said to have hidden the devices in two bathrooms at a local casino on September 30. This is when the investigation in Tampa began.
The gambling staff found the devices before they could do any harm.
In the news release, the police did not name the casino, but the Tampa Bay Times says the devices were found at the Hard Rock Casino in the city.
The arrest warrant said that the devices “posed a risk of serious bodily injury to anyone in the vicinity” if they went off, the paper said.
Investigators found out that a man had been acting strangely at the casino a few days before. People saw the man driving a white Ford Explorer. After a lot of questioning, surveillance, and research, police were able to track the car back to Eckley.
A few days before setting off the bombs, Eckley was arrested by the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office for aggravated attack with a firearm that had nothing to do with the bombs. Scientists who study crime linked information from that case to the devices.
“This case shows how well our local and state police systems can work together to keep our community safe.” “If you go out of your way to hurt innocent people, my office will hold you responsible,” said State Attorney Suzy Lopez. “I want to thank all of our law enforcement partners for acting quickly to protect the public and arrest this defendant.”
He was taken to the Hillsborough County Jail. His hearing for pre-trial arrest is set for November 5.
Source: Florida Man Arrested After Explosive Devices Discovered in Casino Restroom
